Historic growth in hospital beds
President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the National Hospital Infrastructure Plan—with 181 billion pesos—will allow the number of beds to go from 96,966 to 106,105 in six years. It is the largest increase since records began.
The plan includes 152 projects: 50 new hospitals, 47 expansions and 55 replacements or major improvements. The IMSS will have 13,300 new beds, which seeks to reverse the backwardness of the neoliberal period, when in 36 years only 4,300 beds were built.
Eduardo Clark, Undersecretary of Sectoral Integration, explained that 30 projects with 1,474 beds in operation have already been completed: seven IMSS hospitals, 19 from IMSS Bienestar and four from ISSSTE. During 2026, 33 more projects will be added, with 1,163 beds, reaching 29 percent of the six-year goal.
Progress by institution
The director of ISSSTE, Martí Batres, reported that 20 hospitals will be rehabilitated during the six-year period. Four have already been inaugurated; nine are in process, including the General Hospital of Tampico (98 percent progress) and the Regional High Specialty Hospital of Oaxaca (55 percent).
Zoé Robledo, from the IMSS, pointed out that by 2030 47 hospitals will be operational. Seven are already operating and 21 are under construction; of these, ten will open in the next ten months.
Alejandro Svarch, from the IMSS Bienestar, detailed an investment of 46.8 billion pesos for 87 projects: 43 hospitals—eight new and 35 replacements—21 rehabilitated and 23 expanded health centers. In addition, 8,483 units will be modernized with the “The Clinic is Ours” program.
Sheinbaum added that the Universal Health Service will be implemented to guarantee care regardless of eligibility, along with the hiring of more specialist doctors.
